I switched to a new Android assistant that makes Gemini look outdated

When Google introduced that it could be changing the Assistant with Gemini, I braced for what I assumed could be the inevitable: a feature-rich expertise marred by a irritating transition interval. Virtually precisely one yr later, nonetheless, the transition has really gone smoother than I anticipated. Setting reminders and controlling sensible residence units now work, and I haven’t discovered myself fully misplaced with out the outdated Google Assistant. However whereas Gemini hasn’t been the catastrophe I feared, I can’t say it’s a transparent improve both.

For all of Google’s guarantees about deeper reasoning and higher-quality responses, I really feel like there’s little or no that Gemini can do this Assistant couldn’t. So once I discovered that AI startup Perplexity was stepping as much as provide another, I used to be instantly curious to see the way it in comparison with Google’s outdated and new assistants. And after every week of use, I can confidently say that I received’t be returning to Gemini anytime quickly.

As I discussed earlier, Gemini’s quite a few extensions imply that it will possibly now management my sensible residence and take notes. Nevertheless, it fails simply as miserably at answering questions because the outgoing Google Assistant. My principal gripe with Gemini stems from how a lot it depends on the underlying massive language mannequin (and its private data) to reply my queries as a substitute of utilizing its built-in search engine.

Working example, I routinely ask Gemini for inventory costs and get variable outcomes that frustrate me to no finish. A immediate like “How is Apple’s inventory value doing?” as soon as yielded a imprecise response concerning the firm’s monetary efficiency over the previous few months, however crucially, didn’t ship a value quote in any respect.

It wasn’t till I particularly requested “What’s Apple’s inventory value?” that Gemini lastly gave me a definitive reply. And even then, it linked me to a few different web sites and lectured me on the volatility of inventory costs.

Perplexity, in the meantime, responds to such queries with a wealthy data field that even incorporates an interactive chart. Have a look for your self.

This isn’t a one-off, I’ve run into the identical downside when making an attempt to transform currencies on a number of events. Ask Gemini how a lot 100 USD is in Euros, and also you’re extra more likely to get a disclaimer about alternate charge fluctuations than an precise quantity. If the celebrities align, you may get a solution but it surely may simply be sooner to make use of Google Search as a substitute.

Perplexity, alternatively, does precisely what I would like from an assistant: it pulls real-time alternate charges from a number of sources and clearly presents them, albeit with out the beautiful charts this time. Extra importantly, although, it performs this process constantly each single time.

Subsequent, I requested each assistants, “The place can I watch the re-release of Interstellar this weekend?” Right here, Gemini did precisely what I’d anticipate the decade-old Google Assistant to do: it flat out refused to search for a solution. It’s fairly an embarrassing end result, to say the least.

In the meantime, Perplexity carried out a fast search and analyzed eight sources to supply a launch date and proposals on find out how to e-book tickets. From right here, I merely used Google’s Circle to Search and navigated to one of many reserving web sites myself. Is Perplexity’s response good? Under no circumstances, but it surely’s an enormous step up over Gemini.

Whereas most competing digital assistants on Android cease at answering questions, that’s not the case with Perplexity. Like Gemini, you possibly can ask it to carry out a handful of phone-related duties like ship a textual content message or electronic mail, name a contact, and open an app. It could possibly additionally play music by way of Spotify and set reminders.

Impressively, Perplexity can perceive imprecise directions like “Remind me to look at the subsequent season of The White Lotus when it releases.” Right here, you’d anticipate the assistant to search for the present’s launch date first and set a reminder accordingly and that’s precisely what Perplexity does.

Once I tried the identical immediate with Gemini, I used to be horrified to seek out that it merely arrange a process with the complete textual content as a substitute of following the directions on the finish. That is the form of inconsistency that makes Google’s AI expertise so irritating to reside with and doubtlessly harmful in the event you depend on it for something vital.

Perplexity may carry out a number of duties directly, much like Gemini’s multi-extension performance that Samsung showcased on the current Galaxy S25 launch occasion. For instance, it will possibly discover close by Thai eating places and set a reminder to e-book a desk at one later.

On that be aware, Perplexity has a few cool methods up its sleeve. For one, you possibly can ask it to e-book a desk and it’ll convey you to the restaurant’s OpenTable web page to arrange a reservation. Likewise, you possibly can e-book an Uber experience utilizing simply your voice — I examined it with the immediate “Get me a experience to the airport” and it labored as anticipated. Perplexity has a surprisingly good deal with at localized recommendations too. It managed to provide me instructions to the closest espresso store (a non-chain location at that) and reserving a cab to the spot was simply one other voice command away.

Lastly, Perplexity may learn the contents of your display screen when required. This implies you possibly can instruct it to do issues like summarize the contents of your display screen after which ship the end result as an electronic mail to a buddy. Or as I have a tendency to make use of it probably the most, translate a overseas language. Gemini has supplied this characteristic for some time now, so I’m glad I didn’t lose it once I switched to Perplexity Assistant.

Perplexity might have the higher hand in some areas, but it surely’s not precisely equal to Gemini but both. In contrast to Perplexity, Google’s assistant can learn your emails, entry information from Drive, and combine extra seamlessly with companies like Duties and Assistant Routines. The closest Perplexity can get to studying your inbox is summarizing your notifications, which is useful however nowhere close to as highly effective.

One other key distinction is the way you invoke every assistant. Gemini helps a wake phrase for hands-free activation, whereas Perplexity requires holding down the ability button or utilizing a diagonal swipe gesture. I personally don’t thoughts this since I’m normally holding my telephone once I want help, but it surely’s a notable limitation nonetheless. Perplexity additionally lacks any sensible residence controls in the meanwhile — although that may not be a dealbreaker in the event you already personal sensible audio system.

The one lacking piece that may be tougher to disregard is calendar integration. As of now, Perplexity can’t hyperlink to a calendar, that means you possibly can’t verify or add occasions. That is an simply solved downside over time, although, as loads of different apps will let you hyperlink your Google account for calendar and Drive entry.

With these downsides then, do you have to swap to Perplexity? It comes all the way down to what you want out of your telephone’s digital assistant. In case your precedence is getting solutions to questions reliably, irrespective of how vaguely worded, Perplexity is the superior alternative for sure. However in the event you want your assistant to interface immediately together with your digital life, Gemini holds the sting in the meanwhile.

For now, I’ve made my swap, and I don’t remorse it. Gemini might appreciably enhance sooner or later, however Perplexity does every part I would like after which some. Greater than something, I’m simply glad there’s actual competitors on this house. In spite of everything, it was just a few years in the past that the stagnating Google Assistant was the one viable possibility.